pFriem Family Brewers Moves to Columbia Distributing in Washington State

As pFriem Family Brewers set its sights on growth and expansion, the Hood River, Oregon based brewer will move its portfolio in Washington State to Columbia Distributing.

Through the brewery’s first decade in operation it chose to work with five smaller distributors throughout the state of Washington. These distribution partners were Craig Stein Beverage, Northwest Beverages, Odom Corp, Dickerson, and Columbia Dist. – Wenatchee.

Now pFriem will partner with the Pacific Northwest’s largest distributor, Columbia Distributing, in the Evergreen State. There is currently no mention of moving its business in Oregon from Point Blank Distributing.

“We’re honored that the pFriem family and its ownership team have put their confidence and trust in us,” said Chris Steffanci, President and CEO of Columbia Distributing.  “They may be new to the Columbia family, but we’ve been watching their growth closely over the years and we know they have many fans and a big following. Columbia is proud to continue building on that here in Washington.”

pFriem has a fairly large portfolio of beers with usually brewing 100+ different beers each year. The brewery is known for its pFriem IPA and pFriem Pilsner. It’ll be interesting to see how Columbia manages a brewery with this broad spectrum of beers. But for the time being the newly established partnership seems to be exciting for the team at pFriem.

“We are thrilled for our opportunity to work with Columbia Distributing in Washington state,” said Josh pFriem, Brewmaster and Co-Founder of pFriem. “Their commitment to high-quality service and a deep distribution footprint will help us get pFriem beer to all the places where our customers are looking for us. Timing is everything and now is the right time and place for us to make this move in Washington.”

According to the press release, pFriem expressed gratitude for the hard work and dedication of its current distributors in helping to grow the brand in Washington. With this transition, the brewery expects to continue expanding its presence in the state and accelerate its investments in such an important market. The partnership with Columbia will allow pFriem to strengthen its on-premise draft business which is critical to their strategy, and at the same time will help them broaden their package distribution to new classes of trade.

pFriem, who grew up in the Seattle area and studied at Western Washington University in Bellingham, added, “It’s a special feeling to see pFriem beer at bars and restaurants, and on shelves in the local markets where I spent my formative years. This move to Columbia will help us grow in a part of the Northwest that holds a dear place in my heart”.